A PostNL delivery van hit and killed two people in Aalst, 30 kilometres west of Brussels, on Monday morning. The accident took place on the Weggevoerdenstraat and the victims were two people in their sixties.
A PostNL driver went to deliver a package in the street and parked his vehicle with the engine still running, Het Laatste Nieuws reports.
The van then swerved down a slope as the driver likely forgot to apply the handbrake, dragging a man and a woman along for a few metres.
Both victims ended up under the wheels of the van and, despite resuscitation efforts, died.
Ongoing investigations
The public prosecutor’s office is on-site to conduct an expert investigation, while Mayor Christoph D'Haese and the chief of police were present to show their support to the family.
“This is a very tragic accident in which two people lost their lives,” D’Haese said. “The family came here and we took care of them as best we could. Words cannot express the tragedy of this accident, and our thoughts are with the family.”
An investigation into the accident will follow and the surrounding streets are closed off for traffic.
Previous atrocities
The Belgian branch of Dutch parcel delivery company PostNL has made headlines for child labour and human trafficking since Flemish journalist Joppe Nuyts spent time undercover with delivery staff and detailed the ongoing atrocities in a documentary.
Earlier this year, several PostNL depots were raided by the Flemish inspectorate, which uncovered subcontractors having several drivers work longer hours than stipulated in their contract and being paid off the books.
In the following months, complaints to the inspectorate continued to pour in about drivers without a driver’s license, underage workers, undeclared work, and illegal employment.
The CEO and his number two were imprisoned, while in total nine people from PostNL were arrested.
